Blooming beautiful - a blind gardener grows a floral paradise

THESE stunning blooms draw admirers from miles around.

However the keen gardener never gets to see his own handiwork as he's totally blind.

Joe Robinson lost his sight 20 years ago and now has to rely on his sense of touch and smell to create his award-winning floral designs.

But he knows they look good as he receives hundreds of compliments from people who pass his garden in the former mining village of Crook, County Durham.

The 74-year-old retired factory worker said: "I've always been a keen gardener but I had an eye condition which meant a gradual loss of sight. When I became totally blind it never occurred to me to stop - although I can't see what I'm doing, I work by sense of touch and smell.

"At first I did worry I wouldn't be able to grow things so well but people come from all over to see the garden, we even had a couple from New Zealand drop in recently."

Award-winning gardener Joe Robinson has been blind for two decades

Mr Robinson has 20 hanging baskets and relies on his grandson Jamie, 20, to help hook them as wife Heather cannot assist because she is allergic to plants.

He added: "I love all flowers although I don't grow as many roses as I once did because of the thorns. I start off around March to April with lots of small plugs, they are difficult to rear because I have to be very gentle when I'm getting them out and potting them on so I don't kill them.

"But it seems to work as people are constantly stopping to look at the garden and say how wonderful it looks.

"I concentrated on begonias this year, the baskets are full of them - I wish I could see them but the grandchildren describe the colours to me as they flower."

When I became totally blind it never occurred to me to stop - although I can't see what I'm doing, I work by sense of touch and smell.

Joe Robinson

People from miles around congratulate blind gardener Joe Robinson on his flowers

Mr Robinson has won several trophies at his local flower show in recent years.

He added: "They cancelled it this year because we had such terrible weather for the past two summers - which is a shame because I'm told everything looks great now."

Wife Heather, 68, said: "I'm very proud of him - he's unstoppable! The garden is absolutely beautiful, it's outstanding, there are so many flowers.

"It's a real oasis of colour, we get cars stopping outside and people getting out and asking for cuttings! We don't mind, we've got more than we need so we just say: "Help yourselves".

"I used to enjoy helping Joe but my hands come out in blisters, I've been told I've got some sort of allergy, so I have to leave him to it."